Americas Briefs

Updated Jan. 4, 2001 12:01 a.m. ET

Bahamas Enacts Money-Laundering Laws

The Bahamas has put into effect tougher laws on its offshore financial sector in hopes it can be removed from international blacklists of money laundering and tax havens. The prime minister's office said Tuesday that the package of nine laws was put into effect on Dec. 29. The laws include a measure barring anonymous ownership of international business companies, requirements for the secretive banking sector to cooperate with international investigations and a law that sets up a financial crimes unit that has the power to freeze suspicious accounts for as long as five days. The...